A small town was built near the place Two years later, he married Violet Lena Boles, which would further complicate ownership of the treasure rights for years to come. In 1937, the peak was miles from nowhere. When it began to rain, Doc sought shelter under a rocky overhang near the mountains summit. He carries in his wallet a photograph of gold bars and old coins next to a flashlight he provided. Mr. Bailey claimed that given a helicopter and a half-hour, he could find 292 gold bars. The actual movement of the gold in this last, largest shipment, Shriver said, was done by [U.S.] military aircraft. Independent of Shriver, another source traced a number of large removals from Victorio Peak. They even brought in their own security guards, he added. According to a close relative interviewed by Freedom, Shriver was murdered. The relative said that Shriver was beaten up in California, beaten about the kidneys and the head and subsequently died from his injuries. And a fourth story, pieced together recently by Howard Bryan, a reporter for The Albuquerque Tribune, centers on another Apache war chief named Victorio. The room had been undisturbed for so long that the dust, according to Berlett, lay several inches thick. Now, researchers say the bar was. In one of the most closely guarded crimes of recent history, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tons of gold bullion were secretly and illegally removed from caverns on White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the beneficiaries allegedly including former President Lyndon Johnson and individuals connected with the U.S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency and organized crime. Peering into the darkness, Doc saw an old man-made shaft with a thick, wooden pole attached at one side. The 1.93-kilogram bar was found . In a special act of Congress passed in 1989, the Hembrillo Basin was unlocked for Terry Delonas and the Noss heirs; however, nothing has been found. Estimates vary on the number of bars removed, ranging up to 350 or so. In effect, no one could mine the treasure, and that included the Army and Babe Noss. The two men told Porter they had taken one of the smaller bars from the stack because they felt it would be easier to handle than one of the large bars in moving through the long and sometimes difficult passage. Mr. Koury asserted that the General first denied the search was on but admitted it later when sworn statements from the spies were produced. A third, smaller stack, pyramidal in shape, stood about three feet high. The peak is riddled with a network of tunnels. Setting up camp on the desert floor at the base of Victoria Peak, the men headed into the wilderness while their wives stayed at camp. Years later, in 1946, Doc discussed his exploration with Gordon E. Herkenhoff, field representative of the New Mexico State Land Office.1. As a child, he said he remembered his grandmother, Ova Noss, talking about it ceaselessly. Over the weekend, he said, someone found the chest he had buried with gold nuggets, coins, gems and artifacts. Becoming even more complicated, a search of mining records failed to turn up any existing claims including that of Doc Noss. Others believe that Noss found the treasure of Don Juan de Onate, who, in 1598, founded New Mexico as a Spanish colony. South Pass City - A Look into Wyoming's Past. Among the artifacts, Doc is reported to have retrieved documents dated 1797, which he buried in the desert in a Wells Fargo chest along with various other treasures. In 1981, a construction worker discovered the gold bar, weighing 4.25 lbs. In 1955, the missile range was expanded and, the Army closed Victoria Peak to outsiders. Possession of gold was against the law at the time, and the men reasoned that the bar would provide evidence to bring about an authorized, legal expedition to remove the vast quantity of gold. Word of the Doc Noss treasure spread, and keeping people out of the area was no easy chore. In addition, Victorio Peak lay on land owned by the state of New Mexico, and removal of gold without permission of the state violated New Mexico law.4. During World War II, he divorced his wife, Ova, and disappeared for several years. After much searching, he finally found a small iron bar to carry back through the narrow passageway. The daughter of another man, Harvey Snow, died from a gunshot wound in the head after Snow had disregarded repeated warnings in regard to the peak. Acquitted on grounds of selfdefense, Mr. Ryan testified that Doc had promised him 51 bars of gold in return for his $27,000 investment. A gold bar found in a Mexico City park in 1981 was part of the Aztec treasure looted by Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, a new study says. Patterson, Don Breech, Edgar F. Foreman, Leo D. OConnell, Eppie Montoya and B.D. [3] Noss was ultimately killed by an associate, Charley Ryan, in 1949 after Ryan accused Noss of fraud and Noss threatened to kill Ryan and his family. Yet that is exactly what happened to Milton "Doc" Noss, a traveling doctor who discovered an extensive cave network laden with gold and historical artifacts or so he claimed. [6][5] By 1992, a grandson of Ova formed the Ova Noss Family Partnership to finance additional searching. [5] During the 1970s, lawyer F. Lee Bailey represented clients who claimed to know where the treasure was located. It could finally solve the mystery. The whole truth will probably never be known, but there is no doubt that a treasure existed. Thayer Snipes of El Paso, Texas, swore to an affidavit regarding another death. In a four-page confidential report entitled Field Examination of Noss Mining Claims, Hembrillo District, Herkenhoff recorded a description: Dr. And, on March 4, 1949, the day before Doc was shot, a small plane crashed near Victoria Peak killing the pilot and severely injuring Marvin Beckwith, son of the, first Mrs. Noss. You just couldn't trust anybody and still can't, she said. Using ropes for support and guided by his flashlights wavering beam, Doc Noss descended a series of interconnecting chambers which led downward for 186 feet. At least one close relative was convinced that Atkins death was not accidental and that it was directly related to his getting too close to the true story of Victorio Peak. In a deeper cavern, Doc found what he thought was a stack of worthless iron bars. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Mrs. Ova Noss said she shad filed papers retaining mineral rights in case the area opened up again. This could explain the skeletons in the cavern. Gold Bars Dozens of people claim a piece of the actionthat is, gold bars and treasure said to be hidden on the missile range, and worth from a few million dollars to $1.5billion. The soldiers, Airman First Class Thomas Berlett and Captain Leonard V. Fiege said they had found approximately 100 gold bars weighing between 40 and 80 pounds each in a small cavern. In all, eight persons told this writer they had received direct threats against their lives or against the lives of their families. Others speculate that the treasure could be the missing wealth of Emperor Maxmillian, who served as Mexicos emperor in the 1860s. We are a research and service division of: Placer gold deposits were an important source of gold in New Mexico prior to 1902, but placer production after 1902 has been minor. The buried cache was said to have been stolen from the Chihauhua-Spanish by the Indians during the Indian uprisings. Lampros later signed sworn affidavits regarding their experiences. On the night of March 4, 1949, I went with Doc Noss and dug up 20 bars of gold at a windmill in the desert east of Hatch, New Mexico, and reburied them in the basin where Victorio Peak is. A narrow passage through rocks kept the bulky Porter from following the other two men into the depths of the peak. If the treasure was real, Noss had poor timing. "We have always believed that the gold was still there," said Terry Delonas, the 43-year-old son of one of Mr. Noss's stepdaughters who is directing the search. He estimated there were thousands of these bars, each weighing over 40 pounds stacked against a wall. Four major groups of claimants accuse the oothers of trying to cheat them out of it. Two airmen from nearby Holloman Air Force Base would later say that they had found the gold cavern from another natural opening in the side of the peak. It is estimated that 662,000 oz of gold have been produced from placer deposits throughout New Mexico from 1828 to 1991. But in 1977, the Army agreed to allow some searchers with competing claims, including Mrs. Noss, to search the grounds. Parts of White Sands are sometimes leased by private corporations and foreign governments for experiments. Placer gold collected from multiple districts in New Mexico, coupled with a broad database of previously analyzed placer gold samples indicate correlations between chemical signatures (especially gold, silver, and copper) and type of deposits (i.e., Au-rich copper porphyry deposits, Au porphyry deposits, and epithermal deposits). Reached for comment in Cocoa Beach, Florida, General Shinkle adamantly denied any knowledge of the gold and refused to comment at all on the story. The cloud of death shrouding Victorio Peak has reached far. It is estimated that 662,000 oz of gold have been produced from placer deposits throughout New Mexico from 1828 to 1991. Only four districts have each yielded more than 100,000 oz of placer gold production: Elizabethtown-Baldy (DIS019), Hillsboro (DIS197), Old Placers (DIS187), and New Placers (DIS186). As the years passed, Babe Noss held onto her claim at Victorio Peak, occasionally hiring men to help her clear the shaft. Two local ranch workers stumbled upon the search and notified Mrs. Noss. Gold bullion bars are struck continuously to meet the demand for gold, with the following refineries and mints representing some of the greatest refiners of gold bars: Credit Suisse PAMP Suisse Republic Metals Corporation Sunshine Minting Valcambi Suisse Buying Gold Bullion from JM Bullion Now, instead of having thousands of gold bars to draw from, Noss had only a few hundred that he had hidden in the desert. However, it was a slow process, and in 1955, the White Sands Missile Range unexpectedly expanded their operations to encompass the Hembrillo Basin. The Army put those fellows in there blind knowing they wouldn't find anything.. The cast of characters ranges from John W. Dean 3d to Geronimo and the vocabulary is marked by double as a prefixas in doublecross, doubletalk and doubledealing. While Babe looked on from above, Doc inched his way down the narrow passageway into the mountain nearly 60 feet. In September 1961, Berlett and Fiege swore to the specifics of their discovery in detailed affidavits provided to federal officials. Most deposits are thin and less than 45 ft below the surface, but thicker deposits are found in the Elizabethtown-Baldy district (up to 275 ft) and in the Rio Grande Valley district (up to 370 ft). The deposits generally occur in Late Tertiary- to Holocene-age alluvial fan deposits, bench or terrace gravel deposits, river-bars, and stream deposits or as residual placers formed directly on top of lode deposits typically derived from Proterozoic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary source rocks. White Sands, New Mexico by the National Park Service. Victorio knew how much the white man valued gold and had little use for it himself; he amassed vast amounts of treasure by attacking the white settlers. Now, cleared to go by an act of Congress, the best-equipped search ever is under way with $1 million in backing from the descendants and some investors. Becoming desperate for cash, Doc and a man named Joseph Andregg transported gold bars, coins, jewels, and artifacts into Arizona, selling them on the black market. The initial soundings appear to indicate a cavern precisely where Mr. Noss described. Noss claimed that he noticed a strange rock while taking shelter in a cave within Victorio Peak, in New Mexico in 1937. The blast was a disaster, causing a cave-in, collapsing the fragile shafts, and effectively shutting Doc out of his mine. The gold was then shipped to Switzerland and sold in a new form in Zurich. On the night of March 4, 1949, I went with Doc Noss and dug up 20 bars of gold at a windmill in the desert east of Hatch, New Mexico, and reburied them in the basin where Victorio Peak is. Doc thought that he had discovered an old abandoned mineshaft. Caballo Mountains - Also called Horse Mountains, the peaks are located 35 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. In 2019, evidence to support the theory that the gold never left Mexico was revealed when archaeologists confirmed that a gold bar found in 1981 was from Montezuma's treasure. Bill Shriver, an international dealer in precious metals who proved very helpful in the initial stages of this investigation until his death, brought the total still higher. WHITE SANDS, N.M. Lost treasure stories are a dime a dozen in the Southwest. Finally, others believe that the treasures were hidden by Chief Victorio, for whom the peak is named. He also asserts that military security officers censored out of his report all references to military searches for the treasure. Neither the Denver Mint nor the Federal records center in Denver, which has copies of gold receints for that period, could find the Noss receipt, spokesmen there said. Doc returned with a gold bar, presented it to his wife, Babe, and the couple soon dedicated their lives to exploring Victorio Peak, living in a tent at the base of the mountain in search of treasure. Today, the Armys official position on the whereabouts of the gold remains cautious, maintaining that the burden of proof rests with the accusers. He said I'll get F.D.R. She appealed to state officials, who forced the search to stop. CNN Almost four decades ago, a gold bar was found on land that used to be Aztec ruins in Mexico. With legal ownership established, Noss began to work the claim openly, but he also became increasingly paranoid, hiding the gold bars all over the desert. The peak, named after a 19th century Apache war chief, apparently served as a repository for immense quantities of gold mined centuries ago by Spaniards and Indians and smelted into tens of thousands of crudely formed bars. Now, scientists confirm it was part of a plunder by Spanish conquistador Hernn. And for good reason. Ever since then, driven by a desire to become fabulously wealthy, Mr. Noss himself, his descendants, investors and soldiers at White Sands Missile Range, which includes Victorio Peak, have gone in time after time searching for treasure, but have always come up empty. Exploring further, he found even more skeletons stacked in a small enclosure, much like a burial chamber. See the article in its original context from. Peak and look, accompanied by the missile range commander, Maj. Gen. John G. Shinkle, military pblicemen and Treasury agents. After scraping a small section of the bar clean, she exclaimed, Doc, this is gold!. Reaching a compromise, the military allowed Expeditions Unlimited, representing all of the claimants, to excavate the peak in 1977. It would also explain the presence of the Wells Fargo bags, packsaddles, letters, and other artifacts dating to Victorios time. Trace element analysis of placer gold can be used as a valuable exploration tool in order to determine the original deposit source and locating lode gold deposits. He also found some old letters, the most recent of which was dated 1880. Then in 1981, the construction crew found the gold bar, and today scientists have confirmed it was part of the Aztec treasures that Cortes hoped to steal away from Mexico for Spain. Lindgren, W., Graton, L.C., and Gordon, C.H., 1910, The ore deposits of New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 68, 361 p. McLemore, V.T., 1994, Placer gold deposits in New Mexico: McLemore, V.T., Dunbar, N., Heizler, L., and Heizler, M., 2014, Geology and mineral deposits of the Orogrande mining district, Jarilla Mountains, Otero County, New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook 65, p. 247-259. Although the originals have never been recovered, a copy of one of the documents proved to be a translation from Pope Pius III. No one in the provost marshals office to whom Porter talked would admit to knowing anything about the gold, and he was warned by the provost marshal that any future trespassing would be dealt with severely. However, Noss demanded to see the money before revealing the new hiding place. The next day, March 5, 1949, Ryan arrived in the area, insisting that they discuss the problem of what happened to the gold. The earliest reports of placer mining were in the 1600s along the northern Rio Grande. Description: Victorio Peak is surrounded by inhospitable environment near Hot Springs, New Mexico. General Shinkle finally had enough and ordered everyone out. Hiring a mining engineer S.E. He was shot to death in 1949, but his first wife, Mrs. Ova Noss, now 77years old, insists she was with him. In 1979, Babe died without ever finding the treasure. Mr. Bryan, The Albuquerque Tribune writer, said he had gone through a chunk of Mr. Johnson's memorabilia recently and found both the censored and uncensored drafts of the report. The gold was supposedly removed from the cave and sent to Fort Knox. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The Army says the gold was never found. [7], Theories abound on the origins of the alleged treasure, including that it was pilfered from Mexico during the reign of the Austrian puppet Emperor Maximilian, or through collusion between Pancho Villa and Germany prior to World War I.[8]. Each skeleton had its hands bound behind it to a large wooden stake driven into the ground. The saga faded back into obscurity until the Watergate hearings, when John Dean, the dismissed White House counsel, testified before the Ervin Committee that F. Lee Bailey had approached John N. Mitchell, then Attorney General, for help in retrieving 292 bars containing 60 per cent gold and 40 per cent copper from the White Sands range. He was barely able to lift one, much less think of carrying it back to the surface. Chester Stout, for example, a retired Army sergeant, traced the removal of two large truckloads of gold from Victorio Peak, but later had to move out of New Mexico; his life was threatened because, as he was told, he knew too much.. Stepping into the eerie darkness, Doc was alarmed when he saw a human skeleton, kneeling and securely tied to a stake, driven into the ground. A four-pound gold bar found on a building site in downtown Mexico City last month is believed to be part of the treasure seized from the Aztec Emperor Montezuma II by the Spanish. That I walked over to E.M. Guthrie on this occasion in 1972, greeted him, and invited him out to dinner with myself and Frank Foss. Published historic reserves exist for only two districts: Jicarilla with 5.4 million yd3 of 0.043 oz Au/yd3, or approximately 230,000 oz Au in place and Pittsburg with 2 million yd3 of 0.01 oz Au/yd3, or approximately 20,000 oz Au in place in 1936. A Partner and a Gunfight. Berlett viewed this as substantiation for the theory that Spaniards had been responsible for stashing the gold. Immediately reporting the activity to Babe Noss, Babe contacted Oscar Jordan with the New Mexico State Land Office, who, in turn, contacted the Judge Advocates Office at White Sands. Our Mineral Museum The secret stash of a gold mine owner? Within just a few days, Doc and Babe were back at the site with ropes and flashlights. Received direct threats against their lives or against the lives of their families looked from! Also asserts that military security officers censored out of his report all references to searches! It is estimated that 662,000 oz of gold have been produced from placer deposits throughout New Mexico State Land.... Gems and artifacts the Indian uprisings a narrow passage through rocks kept the bulky Porter from following the two! 1981, a copy of one of the Wells Fargo bags, packsaddles, letters, and disappeared for years... 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